


With One's Hands

by Rodyle



Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Ranma 1/2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21999490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodyle/pseuds/Rodyle
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	With One's Hands

_2004, Fuyuki City, Shinto District_

A left hook cut through night wind and rain, "Marriage!?" came an angry scream that filled the small alley, "You're outta yer gourd old man"

The fist missed its target, and an enormous paw swung to counter, along with a literal roar. "GROWF!"

The offended party dodged the beastial response, jumping back to disengage. A red pigtail and Chinese silks adorned the young girl, who was now in a defensive stance. "It's always the same with you! You go on and on about the 'honor' of the family name, then you turn around and pull whatever scam you can get away with!"

Her opponent, a giant panda, brandished a wooden sign at her. It read, 'Quit whining boy, you sound like a girl!'

"And whose fault is that!?"

The panda actually seemed contemplative for a moment, then held up another sign. This one said, 'A true martial artist doesn't indulge in petty blame games!'

That moment's contemplation was the ursine warrior's undoing, as the young girl's surprise attack struck true. A swift kick to the face sent the panda tumbling back, where it crashed into a concrete wall.

The panda, swiftly losing consciousness, held up a final sign, which simply said, 'D... dirty... play....'

"'Anything Goes' Pops, remember?" the girl said, watching her for pass out. Then she retrieved a large bag sitting nearby, which contained all the pair's belongings, and headed off. 

She had no particular destination in mind, she only knew that Ranma Saotome was done being part of her father's schemes.

\---

_Fuyuki City, Miyama District_

Shirou Emiya waved goodbye to his boss and opened his umbrella as he left the bar.

It always hurt him a bit to have to leave while the place stayed open. It was an offense to his work ethic... but a student can't be staying out until bars close up, so it couldn't be helped.

With his shift over, he'd just head straight home as always.

Truthfully, Shirou liked nights, though he tried to appease his feral older sister's teacherly insistence on obeying curfew. He just enjoyed the quiet of the night, whether that meant tinkering in his shed or soaking in the night air as he walked home from work.

As he made his way through the winding streets of Miyama, he turned and found himself on his favorite part of the commute. The houses and trees gave way, and a minute later he was walking right alongside the great river which divided Fuyuki City in two: the old town of Miyama and the new town of Shinto. While Miyama went to sleep, leaving on streetlights and the odd convenience store to light the way, Shinto's skyscrapers still shined in the rainy night.

Shirou was pulled from his admiration of the view by an odd pricking sensation. He turned back to the path just in time to see a woman brush past him.

Dark purple hair, crystal earrings, a crisp business suit, black gloves, and piercing eyes.

A dangerous person, the boy somehow knew.

But whatever danger the foreign woman may have posed wasn't soon coming, as she kept moving on, not even sparing a glance at the Japanese teen. 

Shirou shrugged, and kept moving. It wasn't any of his business anyway. 

\---

_Fuyuki City, Outskirts_

In the midst of the Japanese forest stood a great German castle. 

This castle, built by the bottomless treasury of Siegfried, was the local fortress of the ancient Einzbern mage clan, inhabitanted only when the great ritual of the three clans overtook the city. With the time having finally come again, four new occupants were dispatched from Europe.

The ultimate Master and Container, to reap the souls needed to complete the Thousand Year Dream.

A ritual garment, given movement to fight until the time was right for it to be warn.

A war forged soldier, who would ensure the operation's success even if it killed her, and all those in her care.

And finally, the one who, after all of the Einzbern's enemies were dead and the other three tools had served their purpose, would perform the last rites.

Four times the ritual had failed to aid the alchemists of the Black Forest. There would not be a fifth.

\---

_Fuyuki City, Miyama District_

The basement of the old mansion was the great sanctuary of rot itself. Insects found in no academic archive skittered and squirmed through the filth, breeding a feeding in the empty tombs that lined the chamber walls. Normally, these abominations would cover the ground like a great moving carpet, ever stirring, ever hungering.

But on this night only one abomination was on the floor.

Makiri Zolgen had sought eternity FOR an eternity, and with every passing day he felt the centuries eat away at him. 

His name was gone. Instead, there was 'Zouken Matou.'

His clan was gone. Where once there were strong Russian Zolgens, there were instead two Japanese 'Matous.' One wasn't even of the blood, and that was the actually useful one.

His comrades, gone. Even the Universal Man didn't last 500 years. 

His enemies too, gone. Foes remained, but they were meaningless, replaceable things he had no true connection to. Obstacles, nothing more.

His body itself had rotted away, his present form merely an amalgamation of stolen flesh and his own magecraft. Each new iteration rotted faster than the last.

There was also... something. Something else was gone, long lost, but what and to where even Zouken couldn't say.

All that remained was The Grail, The Grail and Eternity.

He placed the old ship's wheel on the magic circle between his so-called family members.

"Fifty years early," he said aloud, though not really to this audience. 

The Grail was only meant to appear every sixty years, but the demise of the ritual ten years before caused an early return.

Fortuitous, since Zouken couldn't even be sure he'd be able to reach even that trifling amount of time anymore.

Now, he did address the two creatures before him. A glorified mundane, his last descendant. A spare womb with plenty of magic, and almost no will to fight or compatibility with HIS magic. 

Eternity. Eternity would be worth it.

"This is your chance, the both of you. Sakura, you will call the Servant. Shinji, you will lead it. Make yourselves useful. Bring me the Grail, and be rewarded.

Fail, and face the consequences."

\---

_Fuyuki City, Shinto District_

Ryoga Hibiki was lost.

Not unusual, shamefully, but there it was. 

What WAS unusual was that, judging by the Japanese writing now on all the signs, he wasn't as lost as he usually was.

For a man who could try crossing a street and end up crossing oceans, his mother tongue was a sight for sore eyes.

Hoping, praying, that he'd finally found what he sought, he all but accosted a girl in red coming out of a jewelry store. 

"Excuse me, miss! Is this Tokyo?"

The girl, who'd assumed what Ryoga recognized as a Kenpo stance on reflex, stared at him like he was insane. That was fine, he was used to that. "...No?" She said, as if torn between curiosity and the desire to disengage immediately. 

Ryoga's heart slumped, as did his entire body.

This included the arm holding his umbrella, which brought the instrument in contact with the sidewalk, which it immediately left a crater in.

Rin Tohsaka made her escape at that point.

Then, Ryoga pulled himself together, lifted his umbrella again, and reminded himself, "It's fine, it's fine! Been lost before, I'll get lost again! But I'll find my way, I always do! And once I'm there-"

The young martial artist buried his fist in the wall next to him, "Ranma Saotome... Prepare to Die!"

\---

 _Fuyuki City, Shinto District, Ryuudo_ _Temple_

Temples were useful places, in Ranma's experience. For basically nothing but some chores, a vagabond martial artist could always find a roof for at least a night. Maybe even more, if the serial criminal you keep as company doesn't spoil the deal.

Now Ranma didn't have her father around to spoil the deal, but that just meant she could use the shelter more than ever. Hopefully, as midnight drew close, there'd still be some monks awake to let her come in.

But just as the teenage redhead was about to start the climb up the long staircase to the mountaintop temple grounds, she heard something through the rain, in the nearby woods.

No, not something, someone. Someone who sounded like they were in quite a bit of pain.

A martial artist helps those in need, she'd been taught.

Jumping off the staircase and heading into the woods, it didn't take her long to find what she was looking for...

But what she did find, she wouldn't have ever imagined.

Blue hair and pointed ears. A bloodstained coat... No, a robe. There she lay, panting and half-conscious at the base of a tree. 

Even for someone like Ranma, often accused of being a tad dense, or a bit naive...

A woman covered in blood was hiding in the rain.

It was obvious what such a person did.

Anyone would run away first.

What would they do after that? They would either call the police or pretend they hadn't seen it.

It did not matter to her, as she could no longer move...


End file.
